


Move On

by arianapeterson19



Series: Avengers Shorts [67]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Big Brothers, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Little Brothers, No one is more surprised than me, Protective Jarvis (Iron Man movies), Protective Rhodey, Sleepy Cuddles, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Yes I Wrote Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 20:32:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10473810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arianapeterson19/pseuds/arianapeterson19
Summary: It wasn't going to be easy but Tony was going to make it work.ORThe one where Tony tries to make the best of a bad situation.





	

After the funeral, Tony sat in the small sitting room. Peter was already asleep, having been worn out by the week and a half of emotional turmoil. Peter still didn’t really understand what was happening and Tony had worked hard to keep the young boy out of the press, meeting up for interviews with the media and representing the Stark family while begging them to be respectful of his brother and leave the young boy alone. For the most part, the media was doing just that, though Tony was not given the same privilege. 

“Are you ready to go back to MIT?” asked Jarvis, joining the 17 year old, handing him a steaming mug of coffee.

“I can’t,” said Tony, closing his eyes so he wouldn’t see the look of disappointment on the man who had raised him face. “I have Peter now.”

“You have one more semester left,” said Jarvis calmly. “I can look after young Peter while you finish your undergraduate.”

“Jarvis, I can’t do that to you,” said Tony with a sigh. “I can’t do that to Peter. You did a great job with me, but that was never your job and I can’t ask you to raise another kid when you are so close to retirement. Besides, Peter needs some sort of consistency right now and as absolutely amazing as you are, I can’t ask you to be that.”

“Tony,” said Jarvis, using Tony’s name for once, catching his young charges attention in a way that he was certain he was focusing. “You are not and never have been a burden or a job to me. I love you and it has been my absolute privilege and honor to care for you these last 17 years. I would love nothing more than to stay on as your butler and care for young Peter while you are at school.”

Tears sprang to Tony’s eyes and the genius had to take several deep breaths to prevent them from spilling over. His entire world was falling to bits round him and there, sitting next to him, was the one person who had always held it together. That this man would be willing to continue acting at the rock on which Tony had his home, was difficult for Tony to comprehend.

“I need Peter,” admitted Tony.

“Then let us all move to your apartment near MIT until you graduate,” said Jarvis simply. “Peter isn’t in school yet, you can still attend classes while I keep an eye on young Peter.”

“I’m not supposed to move him for like a year after an even like this, according to experts. It’ll scar him or something and I don’t want to fuck him up. Pete still has a shot at being normal, at having a good life, and I can’t fuck that up for him by being selfish and moving him so I can finish my degree. I’ll just transfer to a school nearby.”

“You love MIT. I will not allow you to throw that away. You may either allow Peter to stay here with me while you finish your last semester at MIT or you may allow Peter and myself to move to MIT with you while you finish. Those are your choices.”

Tony wanted to argue but Jarvis had his serious face on, the one he wore when Tony was trying to do something dumb. And Jarvis made an excellent point – one semester was not the end of the world. Peter would probably view it was an adventure, living with Tony in a new town. Peter had enjoyed every weekend he had spent with his brother thus far.

“I’ll have Peter’s things sent to your apartment in the morning,” said Jarvis with a soft smile when he could tell that Tony had relented to logic.

“I’ll need to warn Rhodey.”

“I’ve already had him notified. Now please, sir, get some rest. We’ll deal with the rest in the morning.”

Later that night, Tony was brought out of his sleep when a small weight hit his stomach.

“Petey?” yawned Tony, blinking his eyes open to see the dim form of his little brother curled into his side on the bed.

“I dreamed you were gone!” sobbed Peter.

“Oh buddy, I’m right here,” sighed Tony, lifting Peter and placing him under the blankets, allowing the toddler to burrow closer to him. “It’s okay. I’m right here and I’m not leaving you.”

Peter had woken to nightmares twice already since the accident, mainly ones that had to do with being left alone. Tony had a feeling the fear of being alone was his brother’s way of processing that their parents weren’t coming home again.

“You can’t leave me!” cried Peter.

“Never, buddy,” said Tony, kissing the mop of curly brown hair. “I’ve got you. You’re okay. I’m right here. Right here. You wanna sleep with me tonight?”

Peter nodded, crawling on top of Tony to rest on his chest.

“Story?” asked Peter, his thumb slipping into his mouth.

“Once upon a time, there was a dragon named Elliot,” said Tony softly, settling an arm around his little brother and closing his eyes. “Elliot guarded the princess Ellener. Ellener was socially awkward because her only interaction was with a dragon and as everyone knows, dragons are not the most sociable of creatures. While they are excellent conversationalists, they are horrible at teaching social cues. One day, a knight came along and wanted to try his luck at rescuing the princess Ellener…”

\- Moving On –

“So that is your brother,” said James Rhodes, standing, facing Tony in the living room of their shared apartment.

“Yup,” said Tony with a grin, jostling Peter a little, which did nothing to dislodge the toddler who was hiding his face in Tony’s neck. “This is Peter, my adorable little baby brother. Come on, Petey, say hi to Rhodey.”

Peter shook his head.

“Sorry,” said Tony with a rueful grin. “He’s a little shy right now. Don’t worry, you’ll soon be wishing he was still acting shy.”

“Sounds like a mini you,” said Rhodey.

Tony stuck his tongue out at his friend just as his little brother peeked out, causing the boy to giggle.

“Now, I was thinking we could have some fancy grilled cheese for dinner before Jarvis arrives,” said Tony to Peter, walking into the kitchen. “What do you say?”

“Can we have one with bacon?” asked Peter.

“Of course! Rhodey, grab the bacon. Peter, do you want to tell Rhodey how to cook the bacon just right?”

“Okay!”

By the time Jarvis arrived two hours later, Peter had adopted Rhodey as his own, just like Tony had predicted he would. Jarvis took in the scene, the kitchen a mess, Peter sitting on Rhodey’s lap while the older man read him a book and they munched on fancy grilled cheese. Tony was smiling off to the side and for the first time since his parents death, it wasn’t strained. Sad, yes, but not strained. That was more than Jarvis could have hoped for. The butler knew the normalcy of school and his home there would help his charge settle.

Tony spotted his butler and waved.

“Jarvis!” exclaimed Peter, catching sight of Jarvis when Tony waved. “Rhodey made fancy grilled cheese with us and he made one with onions and Ramen Noodles!”

“That sound interesting,” said Jarvis with an indulgent smile. “Now, how about you take your brother into the living room and watch a movie while I clean up in here?”

“We can do that,” said Rhodey, moving to wash the dirtied dishes.

“Trust me, Rhodey, it’s easier to just let him have his way,” said Tony softly. “Jarvis has a thing with kitchens. It bothers him on a personal level when they are a mess and no matter how many times I’ve watched him clean it I still can’t do it right. If we try to help right now, he’ll just stay up half the night cleaning it the way he wants.”

“It’s true,” said Peter, looking up at Rhodey adoringly.

“Wow,” said Rhodey.

When it was time for bed, Tony settled Peter in what had been the spare bedroom. Jarvis had actually rented the apartment across the hall and would be staying there. It gave Tony some piece of mind, knowing that his beloved butler had his own space and they weren’t being a burden – not that Jarvis ever saw them as that.

“Tony, when are mom and dad coming home?” asked Peter with a yawn.

“It’s just you and me now, buddy,” said Tony with a sad smile, sitting on top of the covers.

“And Jarvis,” added Peter, snuggling into Tony’s side. “And Rhodey.”

“Rhodey is just my roommate,” said Tony with a sad smile, not denying that Jarvis was family.

“No, he’s been your roommate for forever!” said Peter, who honestly did not remember a time when Rhodey was not Tony’s roommate even though he had never met the young man – Tony had told him all sorts of stories about his roommate Rhodey. “That means he’s your family. Jarvis said he’s your big brother and Jarvis knows everything.”

“That he does,” said Tony with a quiet chuckle. “Now how about a story?”

“Yes please!” 

“Once upon a time, many moons ago, there lived a handsome and dashing young prince named Anthony. Anthony was handsome and intelligent and the heir to the throne of the growing kingdom. The King and Queen were very busy and Prince Anthony didn’t see them often and he was very lonely. It seemed like nothing would fill that void that Anthony was left with in the King and Queen’s absence. However, that all changed when the King and Queen brought home a new baby prince. He was the cutest little baby prince ever – even cuter than Prince Anthony, and trust me, that Prince Anthony was hard to beat. But Prince Anthony had no problem with being beat out in cuteness by that little prince because that little prince was Prince Anthony’s entire world. Prince Anthony was still the heir to the throne, still brilliant, but instead of lonely he was incredibly happy, his life full, because that little prince was the best thing to ever happen to Prince Anthony. The End.”

Peter was fast asleep; Tony closed his eyes – just for a moment – and relaxed into the bed, content for the moment to have his little brother close to his side. Jarvis poked his head in the room an hour later and couldn’t stop the gentle smile that spread across his face. It wouldn’t be easy but there was no doubt in Jarvis’s mind that Tony would do a wonderful job raising Peter – after all, Peter had been Tony’s whole world since he was born.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote fluff. I need to go write something emotionally damaging now.
> 
> Always,  
> Ari


End file.
